Beyonce leads Grammy nominations with 9 nods

Beyonce performs at a get-out-the-vote event for the Hillary Clinton campaign in Cleveland, Nov. 4, 2016. BeyonceA*s nine nods for A'Lemonade,A' her album and film exploring race and infidelity, led the field as nominations for the 59th Grammy Awards were announced on Dec. 6. less FILE -- Beyonce performs at a get-out-the-vote event for the Hillary Clinton campaign in Cleveland, Nov. 4, 2016.

Peter Lucas: Romney couldn’t read us. How will he read the world?

U.S. foreign-policy sage Henry Kissinger used to tell Harvard students that the test of a good statesman was his ability to sense the evolution of an event before it happened. What President Richard Nixon's secretary of state meant was that a successful diplomat had to be able to read the character of his foreign counterpart as well as have the ability to take the pulse of the country he was dealing with.

The Latest: Pence says Flynn Jr. has no role in transition

In this Thursday, Dec. 1, 2016, photo, President-elect Donald Trump arrives at Carrier Corp in Indianapolis. Trump is slated to hold the second stop of this "thank you" tour Tuesday, Dec. 6, in North Carolina, less than a we... Vice President-elect Mike Pence says the conspiracy-minded son of a key adviser to Donald Trump has no role in the president-elect's transition.

Beyonce leads Grammy noms with 9; Kanye, Rihanna score 8

In this Nov. 4, 2016 file photo, Beyonce performs at a Get Out the Vote concert for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton in Cleveland. The pop star is the leader of the 2017 Grammys with nine nominations, including bids for album of the year with "Lemonade," and song and record of the year with "Formation," announced Tuesday, Dec. 6. The singer, who already has 20 Grammys, is also the first artist to earn nominations in the pop, rock, R&B and rap categories in the same year.

Federal appeals court puts ACA lawsuit on hold

A federal appeals court ordered Monday that a lawsuit filed against the Affordable Care Act by lawyers for the House of Representatives be put on temporary hold until after the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump. The order issued by the US District Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit reflects the change of administration, and it delays the briefing schedule in the case until Trump is in office.

Trump heads back out on road for ‘thank you’ tour

In this Thursday, Dec. 1, 2016, photo, President-elect Donald Trump arrives at Carrier Corp in Indianapolis. Trump is slated to hold the second stop of this "thank you" tour Tuesday, Dec. 6, in North Carolina, less than a we... The threat of a terror attack against a busy commuter rail station in the Los Angeles area has prompted authorities to increase security throughout the region and urge commuters to report any suspicious behavior... The threat of a terror attack against a busy commuter rail station in the Los Angeles area has prompted authorities to increase security throughout the region and urge commuters to report any suspicious behavior they see.

Recount’s leader visits Trump Tower

Jill Stein went to Trump Tower on Monday to press her case for recounts in three closely contested states in last month's presidential election. Stein, the Green Party presidential nominee and now the leader of the recount campaign, made her appearance hours after a federal court ruling early Monday that ordered Michigan elections officials -- over the protests of President-elect Donald Trump and his allies -- to begin a recount by noon Monday.

Trump won’t tip hand on pipeline

Industry leaders on Monday urged President-elect Donald Trump to make approval of the disputed Dakota Access oil pipeline a "top priority" when he takes office next month, while opponents who have protested the project for months vowed to stay put on their North Dakota encampment despite harsh wintry weather and a tribal leader's call to leave. The moves come after the Army Corps of Engineers declined to issue a permit for the $3.8 billion pipeline to cross under a Missouri River reservoir in southern North Dakota near the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation.

Republican Elector: We ‘should reject’ Trump

Christopher Suprun, a Republican elector who is one of the 538 people tasked with casting votes to officially appoint the next president of the United States, says he will not vote for President-elect Donald Trump. In a New York Times column published on Monday , Suprun argued that Trump has done little to reach beyond his base of supporters since winning the election last month, and called it troubling that the president-elect has chosen to lean further into the controversial bombast that defined his raucous campaign.

New York Asks US Government for $35M in Trump Security Costs

New York City asked the U.S. government for up to $35 million to cover security costs for protecting President-elect Donald Trump in his home atop a Manhattan skyscraper, Mayor Bill de Blasio said on Monday. Trump, a Republican, has spent most of his time since Election Day in his apartment at Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue, forcing police to work with the U.S. Secret Service to provide intensified security measures in one of the city's busiest neighborhoods.

Trump not saying what hea ll do about Dakota Access pipeline

Industry leaders are urging President-elect Donald Trump to make approval of the disputed Dakota Access oil pipeline a "top priority" when he takes office next month, while opponents who have protested the project for months are vowing to stay put on their sprawling North Dakota encampment despite harsh winter weather and a tribal leaders' call to leave. The moves come after the Army declined to issue a permit for the $3.8 billion pipeline to cross under a Missouri River reservoir in southern North Dakota near the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation.

Republicans in Congress target governors for help in bid to ax Obamacare

Republicans are trying to rope the country's governors into their Obamacare repeal effort, soliciting feedback from the state executives Monday as they plot their strategy for early next year. While they've said dismantling the Affordable Care Act is their top priority in the new year, congressional Republicans are still sketching out what comes next, and the governors, who have grappled with the effects of Obamacare and the uninsured up close, could provide a lifeline for the GOP.

Texas elector says he will not cast his vote for Donald Trump

A Texas elector said Monday that enough is enough - he will not cast his vote for President-elect Donald Trump as part of the Electoral College process on December 19. Christopher Suprun, a paramedic from Texas who served as a firefighter during the Sept. 11 attacks, wrote in an editorial published in The New York Times that even though he is a Republican elector, he will not vote for Trump.

Obama’s lame-duck red tape

The bowels of the federal bureaucracy aren't exactly Santa's workshop, but legions of Barack Obama's elves are working 24/7 to leave behind large lumps of coal in the Christmas stocking of Donald Trump. Which is odd, because the president's loathing of all things anthracite and bituminous is well known.